


Stars Aligned

by GreenOnyx



Category: Leia Princess of Alderaan - Fandom, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Leia Princess of Alderaan
Genre: AU, Alderaan un-exploded, F/F, What mid twenties Leia would be doing if she had a planet, Young Leia/Amilyn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-03-06
Packaged: 2019-03-22 16:53:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13768425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenOnyx/pseuds/GreenOnyx
Summary: AU: Due to the efforts of Rebel engineer Galen Erso, the Death Star malfunctioned during Governer Tarkin’s inaugural firing on the peaceful planet Alderaan. Rebel efforts destroyed the death star before it could be repaired, leaving Alderaan unharmed and Leia Organa a princess with a planet. The romance between Princess Leia and the smuggler Han Solo deteriorated due to Han’s unwillingness to adapt to the genteel lifestyle of an Alderaanian royal consort. Princess Leia has since found comfort and companionship in her friend and fellow Rebel, Amilyn Holdo.





	1. Firsts

2V informed Leia that her guest had arrived and was sitting in the garden and asked, not for the first time “Are you sure I’m not allowed to fix a guest’s hair?” “Yes, Toovie. I’m still sure.” Leia was in too good a mood to feel insulted by her attendant droid today. She understood how one could get the impression that Amilyn needed fixing, she just wholeheartedly disagreed with it. It had been nine years since she’d changed her mind about Amilyn-well... since the first time she changed her mind about Amilyn. She had gradually come to a realization of the past few years; it was a realization that changed her life. Whether Amilyn felt the way she did or not, Leia felt she had become a new person-or rather that she had finally discovered the person she’d been all along. Leia was in love with wonderful weird Amilyn Holdo.

   As she rounded the corner of the hallway in her small townhouse in Aldera, the sight of Amilyn’s long willowy form perched atop one of the garden’s low walls took Leia’s breath away. Her hair was sunset colored; streaked in subtly different pinks, reds, and oranges. She was in a long pink dress that was even brighter than her hair and she was bent over a datapad, reading. With the height of the wall Amilyn’s crossed knees were level with Leia’s stomach. Amilyn was so engrossed in her reading that she didn’t notice Leia until she leaned against her legs and rested her hands on top of her knee

“There’s a great view of the Meela cluster from this garden once the sun goes down” Leia said by way of greeting once Amilyn looked up from her data pad. Her friend’s signature loopy smile spread across her face just as she scrunched up her eyebrows in a wince. She looked at Leia with one open eye as she asked with feigned trepidation

“Am I so predictable?”

“Perfectly so” That made Amilyn sigh in mock resignation

“I suppose it’s best to accept one’s own truth early on” Amilyn reached up to stroke Leia’s hair, a gesture of the intimacy they had established. When Leia reflected on their friendship and all of the closeness she had wanted with Amilyn she marveled at her own past obtuseness in thinking she was anything but in love with Amilyn Holdo. Amilyn looked sad, but she smiled at her friend “Leia...” she began, sounding equally like she was lamenting as well as celebrating what she was about to say “someone has has captured your heart-I can see it in your face. People have this glow when they love someone. I can see it in you.”

   Leia had been depending on this. She wasn’t sure how to broach the subject herself, but she knew she could rely on Amilyn’s forthright nature to bring her changed countenance into the conversation. She knew it would happen because she felt so different, there was no way she couldn’t be different on the outside too. “Someone certainly has” she beamed. Amilyn put her hand over her heart.

“I am so happy. After the fire you had with Han, I worried you’d be too burned to light up again. I’m so glad I was wrong.” She both did and didn’t sound glad. Leia knee Amilyn wasn’t a liar, not in her personal life anyway-her dealings as a staffer in the Galactic senate where she operated as a Rebel spy were a different matter. She was happy for Leia, but seemed crestfallen. Leia wanted to fix it, she wanted to take away any pain that could ever attach itself to Amilyn. She desperately hoped that what she guessed this was was correct; that was a weight she could easily lift from Amilyn’s heart.

“As it happens, I am in love.”

“Is it someone I know?”

“Oh yes.”

“Someone in the resistance?”

“Of course. I could never trust anyone who wouldn’t be-not again.”

“No. Of course not.” Amilyn cupped Leia’s cheek tenderly, with sadness in her eyes. Leia didn’t want to dwell on the past, she was more ready than ever to move into her future. She continued giving clues

“Someone who looks absolutely striking in red” she said, looking at the vermilion curls framing Amilyn’s face. Amilyn seemed to consider this

“Red...” she whispered more to herself than to Leia as she pondered. Her eyes slowly widened as she equally slowly sat up to board straight posture “Leia... Mon? I thought you were only interested in humanoid males. But Mon Mothma, oh Leia, I more than see the appeal. I must say I hadn’t thought she’d move on so soon, but the heart wants what the heart wants-“

“No. Amilyn. What? No it isn’t Mon. Wait? Move on from what?”

Amilyn looked suddenly worried. “Well...”

“Well?”

“Well...”then in an apologetic and rushed stream, the truth spilled out. Amilyn had clearly been having a terrible time holding it in “we spent a lot of time together over the last two years and she is a very impressive woman, Leia-and we ran into each other at this night club-the last place I expected to see her, but I suppose everyone has to unwind at some point and we had some wine and we talked and there were actual candles and the music was so nice and her eyes are so penetrating and it only lasted a few months and I wanted to tell you, but she’s a very private person and even so-if it got out that she had an affair with a staffer-“ Amilyn halted. Leia looked as stunned as she felt. How could she not have known? Mon Mothma? The stern and reserved, positively stony Mon Mothma had... had what? “ _Had an affair_ ” the way Amilyn put it. But Mon wasn’t married, wasn’t personally connected at all as far as Leia knew. Why shouldn’t she seek companionship? Why shouldn’t it be with Amilyn. She was willing to admit the age difference felt a little odd to her, but she knew that was no obstacle to a lot of people. And anyway Amilyn was old enough to know her own mind. She was certainly smart enough to keep up with Mon. Still Leia felt... hurt. “Are you upset with me?” Amilyn asked meekly.

“No” leia shook her head. She was upset, but she wasn’t sure she had the right to be. She tucked that away for later when she had a moment to consider it. “No, I just... I’m shocked. I never would’ve guessed. No, it isn’t Mon.” Leia felt more than little crestfallen herself now. She had been so happy, but now she felt that a woman she looked up to and trusted had betrayed her. She knew that didn’t make complete sense; maybe it didn’t make any sense. Amilyn placed her hands over Leia’s which were still on Amilyn’s knee.

“I’m sorry. That was selfish of me. You were trying to tell me about your wondrous new love and I stole the joy out of the moment with my impulsive need to amend my lies of omission. Oh Leia can you forgive me? Please don’t let this stop you from confiding in me. Her hands gripped Leia’s and her plea was so earnest, Leia could never refuse her.

“There’s nothing to forgive, Amilyn” she reassured her friend by lacing their fingers together and looking to her eyes. Amilyn leaned forward and rested her forehead on Leia’s.

She breathed a sigh of relief and asked “Tell me?”

“You’ll still have to guess. You’re the one who started this game.” Leia joked.

Amilyn sat back up and peered into the distance “...red... who else is red...” she gasped “Red? No one is redder than him. Leia is he tall? Have we established if you’re still confined to the realm of humanoid males? Oh Leia is it Ackbar? He’s so distinguished, what a good fit for you!”

“Amilyn!” Leia gripped her hands to try and pull her friend back to this plane of reality “If it isn’t Mon it certainly isn’t going to be Ackbar. I hate to disappoint you, but I am rather limited to the humanoid category in my physical attractions.”

“Well I certainly can’t fault you that. It’s a biological imperative for most species, we only want mates who make a good genetic fit for us-even if we have no conscious desire to procreate...” She trailed off and looked confused “may I have another clue?”

Leia laughed and pulled Amilyn’s hands close to her while she tried to think of another clue. “This person... well I focused on red before, but they aren’t always red. In fact this person is practically a full color spectrum all on their own. This person...” she would continue giving clues until Amilyn got it this time. She still felt like a coward who wanted to run and hide, but it was too late for that now. She began to feel her heart race and the blood flow to her face as she went on “...is one of the cleverest people I’ve ever met. People don’t always understand what’s she’s saying because she’s usually at least one step ahead of everyone else. She’s very kind. I would say she goes out of her way to be kind to others, but she doesn’t need to because it is her way. She...” Leia wasn’t sure she could keep going. Her voice was starting to shake, which wasn’t like her at all. She cleared her throat and closed her eyes. She tried to concentrate but her nerve was failing her. “She’s an invaluable spy. She... she’s... I’d trust her with my life... she’s saved it often enough” leia laughed but was interrupted by the sudden press of soft lips to her mouth and Amilyn’s hands gently squeezing hers. She leaned into the kiss, catching one of Amilyn’s lips between hers. Amilyn let go of Leia’s hands and placed her fingers lightly on her face and neck. She stroked Leia’s cheek with her thumb. She broke the kiss and rested her forehead against Leia’s once again.

“Did I get it this time?”

“What do you think?” Leia pressed her lips to Amilyn’s again and placed her hands on Amilyn’s legs. Had they been in any other position it would’ve been much more forward a move than Leia would’ve opted for in their first kiss. She thought about the phrase “first kiss”. She liked the idea that this was just the beginning, just her first day of kissing Amilyn.


	2. The Toy

It had been a week since Leia had told Amilyn she loved her, and it had been six grueling days since she’d seen her. They were used to being apart for weeks, but always as friends. Now they were apart as lovers and it was like no loneliness Leia had ever felt. She was ecstatic in the knowledge of the love that she had, she felt like Amilyn was always with her even though they were systems apart, but now being without Amilyn felt more acutely like missing a piece of herself than any absence had before. She was back on Coruscant now as the senate was in session today. The issues being discussed (tourism tariffs specific to aquatic worlds) were too highly specific and mundane to really grab her attention. It wasn’t often that her job felt like a chore, but when something as dull as this was keeping her from tonight’s reception where she would finally see Amilyn it felt tedious in the extreme.

When the issue resolved (with no input needed from Alderaan, thankfully) Leia felt that if she hadn’t had anything to look forward to after this session she might have slept through it. Out on one of the higher balconies of the senatorial complex Leia was trying very hard to focus on what the senator from Antar was saying to her about the efficiency of official trade routes, but just over his shoulder she could see Tai-Lin Garr, one of the senators from Gatalenta proudly introducing Amilyn to people. Leia could only see her purple hair tied a loose bun and a sliver of her long figure in a lavender gown.

“...but I can’t help but feel you’ve got more important matters on your mind” her companion conceded.

Leia was embarrassed, she ought to be better than this. “I’m so sorry, Senator. I don’t know where my head is today.”

“Don’t worry yourself, my young colleague. Even my own staff get a glazed look when I discuss trade routes”

“We should all be thankful that issues like tourism and trade are the things we get to discuss these days”

“Too right” the senator agreed “still... it is a hard truth to accept when one realizes that the excitement of wartime has become romanticized in ones own mind”

This was an unexpected turn in conversation. More often than not in the senate the days of the empire and the battles were regarded with solemnity or silence, with thanks that it wasn’t that way anymore. Leia thought it was refreshing to hear someone admit that they missed the excitement. “How do we carry on now that we have what we fought for?” she half joked. The senator gave her a wry smile and took a drink. Leia had been so diverted by the candidness of the moment that she hadn’t noticed the column of purple slowly approaching her through the crowd until she was a few feet away.

Amilyn’s smile could’ve knocked the wind out of Leia. In fact it essentially did. For just a second when she looked at Amilyn she forgot how to breathe. The Antarian had been called over by someone behind Leia and left her with his apologies which she barely heard. Amilyn approached her with the reserved dignified countenance expected of a representative of Gatalenta. “Senator Organa. I hoped I’d see you here.” Amilyn’s voice was slow and steady, and like it always was these days, her posture was perfect, only her eyes revealed the intensity of her feelings. Leia had a brief flash of standing on another balcony in this building years ago, at their first apprentice legislature reception. She remembered how strange she’d thought Amilyn was and how she had disapproved of the things that made Amilyn stand out-believed she was standing out for the wrong reasons-not doing it subtly enough. Leia felt a pang somewhere just below her stomach, a relief that she was the one who’d changed and not Amilyn.

“Amilyn” Leia breathed as she pulled her into a brief, chaste hug. It was the sort of hug that was appropriate to their surroundings, the sort of hug anyone would expect the senator from Alderaan to give to her friend with whom she’d fought in the rebellion and alongside whom she now worked in government. “Come on, lets enjoy the view” she said, taking Amilyn’s elbow and leading her to a relatively secluded stretch of balcony.

“How soon do you think we can leave without attracting attention?” Amilyn asked airily while she gazed out at the sunset over the city.

“I think it all depends on whether we want to make our excuses on the way out or slip out without saying anything”

“I don’t think we’ll manage that. Your father just arrived and he’s lingering by the door. He gave me an odd look this morning. Have you mentioned anything to him?”

“I...” Leia felt a little embarrassed. She had mentioned something to him... she’d more than mentioned it, she’d all but made an announcement about it at dinner with her parents two days prior “my mother asked” Leia said simply.

Amilyn frowned “They had to drag the truth out of you”

“No” Leia panicked. Her heart started beating faster, she quickly affixed her gaze on a building the distance to avoid appearing to make a scene “Of course not. I just don’t want to... I don’t want them to... after Han... the royal life isn’t for everyone and loving me doesn’t necessarily entail a willingness to thrust oneself int-“ she stopped because Amilyn had squeezed her hand.

“Leia I was kidding” Leia felt very relieved.

“Oh” she took a breath “good.” Amilyn leaned into her, gently pressing her arm against Leia’s. “You know, they really like you” she said to Amilyn “my parents.”

“Do I fulfill your mother’s criteria for a scoundrel or for a suitable partner?” Amilyn joked.

“Somewhere decidedly in the middle, I think” Leia smiled.

Amilyn raised her eyebrows like she was impressed. “I think I’d make an excellent scoundrel” Amilyn said thoughtfully. “Tell me... is it the hair? The reason your parents disapprove of me?”

“They don’t disapprove of you. And what’s with you worrying about who approves of you?” Leia joked.

“I was honored for my bravery after the empire fell ,remember? I grew very accustomed to being approved of... approval is the third most addictive substance in the known universe”

“Oh is it?” Leia laughed “and what are the first two?”

“Well number two is probably some kind of drinkable intoxicant, but number one is still...” she looked into Leia’s eyes and then back at the horizon with a smile “a pair of pretty dark eyes.” Leia wanted so badly kiss Amilyn right now that she had to fight to not let herself lean into her just then.

“Am I interrupting?” Bail Organa’s deep voice came from behind them in a joking whisper.

“Nothing to interrupt, Senator” Leia replies with mock formality.

Bail’s brow furrowed “Nothing?” He kept his voice low “Young lovers and a beautiful sunset and there was nothing to interrupt? How disappointing.”

Leia rolled her eyes and Amilyn smiled broadly but looked away back toward the city. Leia didn’t think she’d ever seen Amilyn be shy before. It was endearing. Bail seemed to think so as well, the look on his face was one of fondness that held a hint of apology. He put his arms around both of them, he squeezed their shoulders and kissed Leia on the forehead. “Don’t worry, I’m leaving” his hands dropped back to his sides “But it is nice to see you again Amilyn. I hope you’ll visit us on Alderaan again soon”

“I’d like that very much, Senator.” Amilyn said still sporting her wide earnest smile, and still looking the tiniest bit shy.

When they were alone again Leia mused “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you be shy.”

Amilyn smiled “It’s...” she seemed to look into the distance while chose her words “different now” she finished simply.

“Different?” Leia asked, an uneasy feeling creeping into her stomach, an all too familiar uneasy feeling. She tried to push down the image of the falcon flying away, the memory of Han kissing her one last time when he’d said _“I’m sorry, princess. I’m just not this guy. You want somebody else for all this”_ before walking away from her forever.

“I just mean” Amilyn began again, resting her hand lightly over Leia’s on the balcony “that I want it to be right. I want them to think I’m... right... I know having you is more than just you... to have you is to have a world of responsibility... literally”. It was the first time Leia could remember Amilyn having trouble finding words for her feelings. This is what Leia was to people, to anyone who loved her; she was a world of responsibilities and a lifetime of appointments. She was very practiced at hiding her feelings from almost everyone, but Amilyn was definitely not that category. Leia looked out at the city while she mulled that over. “I feel like I’m not saying this right” Amilyn frowned.

“No, you’re saying it fine.”

“No I’m not. If I were you wouldn’t look like stone.” They were both silent for a moment, listening to the sounds of people bustling and chatting behind them. “On Gatalenta” Amilyn began “in my city, there’s this market that I used to sneak off to every day when I wasn’t in lessons. One of the food vendors sells these bags of roasted grains, they’re flavored with all sorts of fruits and spices and you can get sweet or savory and it’s all so delicious, and I buy some every time. But it’s not the grains I really go for. See when I was a little girl my governess used to take me to the market and buy me one of the little multicolored bags for kids that are flavored with fruit and you don’t know which one you’ve got until you eat it, but I was always really excited for the little toys the sellers would hide in the bottoms of the bags. Sure the sweets were delicious, but they weren’t my favorite part.”

As Amilyn told her story, Leia could feel her eyebrows scrunching closer and closer together. Now she looked at Amilyn whose eyes were dreamy and distant over the horizon. “Am I the toy?”

“Well... in the analogy sense, yes-which makes Alderaan the sweets. You see none of it’s bad. I want it all. But I want you the most. If you came with none of it, I would still want you the most. But Leia” she turned to face her and placed a hand on her shoulder, her touch firm and affectionate “I feel like I need to say this more directly-I’ve been practicing being more direct with Tai-Lin... I know what I’m potentially taking on when I say I’m committed to you. I know that it feels very early to be discussing this, but I want it to be something you don’t have to question: I want you and I know what that means and I’m still here-unless you and I together decide that it should be otherwise.”

Leia felt hot tears behind her eyes and again, that strong pull from somewhere in the vicinity of her stomach, begging her to let her body intertwine with Amilyn’s. A loud disingenuous sounding laugh from someone in the crowd of politicians that she had temporarily forgotten she was among pulled her back to her surroundings. Amilyn dropped her hand back to her side and Leia reached for it and gave it a quick squeeze. “Won’t you accompany me to my apartments, Amilyn? We can discuss this matter further in private.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to everyone who read and especially those who commented, encouraging me to continue. I’m having so much fun with this story (:


End file.
